Sourav Ganguly not sure about Rishabh Pant fitting into World Cup squad

With only five one-day games remaining for the Indian team ahead of the upcoming World Cup, the Indian team is trying to figure out the best possible combination for the global event. The ODI series against Australia will begin from today and the team management have decided to go into the series with Rishabh Pant in place of Dinesh Karthik as the second wicketkeeper in the side. The Delhi keeper has done well in the Test matches and T20Is but as far as the 50-over format goes, he has played only three games so far in his career.

Meanwhile, Ganguly has said that it will not be easy for Pant to fit into the scheme of things for the World Cup before which India will play five ODIs in the series against the Aussies. 

“He (Pant) has to fit in. I don’t know whether he would be able to fit in at this moment. So it depends. But he’s obviously a player for the future,” Ganguly told PTI.

“Karthik is not part of the ODI squad then obviously they are not thinking him as an option. It depends on what the selectors want.”

Ganguly referred India as a very good side for the World Cup and heaped praise on the bowling department. The management has rested Bhuvneshwar Kumar for the series against Australia and Jasprit Bumrah is back in the ODI team after a break during the series in Australia and New Zealand earlier this year. The Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) president said that the players select themselves in the team with the kind of performance they have put in.

“India are a very good side. It’s a very strong side. They are a pretty much self-selected team. I don’t see too many changes in the squad. Bowling is good in (Jasprit) Bumrah, (Mohammed) Shami, Bhuvi (Bhuvneshwar Kumar). Batting picks itself. Spinners (Yuzvendra) Chahal and Kuldeep (Yadav). They are pretty self-selected team.”

Talking about the comments made by skipper Virat Kohli on Indian Premier League (IPL), the former India captain said, “It does not bring in bad habits. When you see Kohli bat the way he bats, there are no bad habits at all. World Cup is how you play in the World Cup. It’s (IPL) a different tournament. You just play and move on to the World Cup.”